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Israeli intel claims chemical weapons by Syrian regime

Emily BourkeUpdated
Wed Apr 24 14:21:00 EST 2013

A senior Israeli military intelligence official says there's evidence that the Syrian government has been using chemical weapons against rebel fighters. The claim bolsters earlier assertions made by Britain and France that the Assad regime has resorted to chemical warfare to crush the opposition. The US has declared the use of chemical weapons by Syria a so-called 'red line' which could prompt American intervention. But so far, the Washington is yet to confirm, or be convinced about the claims.

Transcript

ASHLEY HALL: There's increasing alarm over the crisis in Syria with claims emerging from several quarters that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons repeatedly and in recent weeks.

A senior Israeli military intelligence official says there's evidence, in the form of photos, that show the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, in particular, the nerve agent, sarin.

That backs up earlier claims made by Britain and France.

But so far, Washington is yet to conclude, confirm, or be convinced about the claims.

Emily Bourke reports.

EMILY BOURKE: An Israeli intelligence official is the latest to directly accuse the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons.

Brigadier General Itai Brun is the research commander in the intelligence directorate of the Israeli Defence Forces.

At a security conference in Tel Aviv he gave details about photos that purportedly show victims suffering as a result of exposure to nerve-gas.

ITAI BRUN (translation): To the best of our professional understanding, the government used lethal chemical weapons against militants on a number of occasions in the past few months, including the most reported incident on March 19th.

The pupils narrowed, the foam coming out of their mouths and the other sides show in our eyes that they made use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin.

EMILY BOURKE: The reports and rumours about Syria's chemical weapons are becoming increasingly tangled. Britain and France have presented documents to the UN outlining their suspicions. But firm physical evidence has been hard to come by.

Confusing matters further is that the Israeli government has not been able to publicly confirm the intelligence from its own analysts.

At a NATO meeting in Brussels, the US secretary of state John Kerry was reluctant to say whether Washington had intelligence to support the claims of the Israeli general.

JOHN KERRY: I talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning from here. I think it's fair for me to say that he was not in a position to confirm that, in the conversation that I had, and so it's up to him and their process as to when and how they do that.

Not for me to make any other announcements, except to say to you that I don't know yet what the facts are, I don't think anybody knows what they are, but obviously whatever allegations are made have to be thoroughly investigated. And it is appropriate to chase this one down and find out what's going on, no question about it.

EMILY BOURKE: But the Syrian regime has levelled allegations of its own about rebel fighters using chemical weapons.

That's something Washington is equally sceptical of.

EMILY BOURKE: Experts say soil samples and examinations of suspected victims are the only ways to confirm that chemical weapons have in fact been used but so far UN forensic investigators are yet to set foot in Syria.

Farhan Haq is a spokesman for the UN.

FARHAN HAQ: The initial idea came from the government of Syria, who had requested the team to look at the one incident. We have since received requests from the governments of the United Kingdom and France about other incidents.

We are currently in discussions trying to make sure that we can have the appropriate access for the team.

EMILY BOURKE: The US has described the use of chemical weapons as a red line, which could trigger outside military intervention.

Now into its third year, the Syrian conflict has settled into a deadly grind, the casualties are in the tens of thousands, and more than a million people have fled their homes and towns to seek refuge abroad.

The US secretary of state is warning that an implosion of Syria would be the worst consequence and that international negotiators must redouble their efforts to try to bring the parties to the table.